Chemistry in industry and technology

C.1 Iron, Steel, and Aluminum

Sources: Hematite, Magnetite, and Pyrites
o Fe2O3, Fe3O4, and FeS2
o Pyrite is not usually used due it the sulfur dioxide produced, which leads
to acid rain
Reactions at the blast furnace
o Iron ore (small pellets), coke, and limestone added at top of blast furnace
o Blast Furnace has hot air going up; looks like a lamp
o Coke burns in the preheated air to form carbon dioxide
o Limestone decomposes to calcium oxide and carbon dioxide
o Both carbon dioxide react with more coke to produce carbon monoxide
o Carbon monoxide = reducing agent
o Gas goes up and reduces the iron oxide to iron and carbon dioxide
o Iron produced in liquid state and at 1500 degrees Celsius
o Calcium oxide (limestone) and silicon dioxide and aluminum oxide (ore) =
liquid slag which contains calcium silicate and calcium aluminate
o Slag is less dense than iron
o Iron flows into moulds (pigs) to produce pig iron
o Slag runs off to be used for cement and roads
o Hot waste gases used to heat incoming air; reduces energy cost
Conversion to steel from iron
o Blast furnace iron contains about 4% Carbon makes metal brittle and
reduces melting point
o Conversion to steel required
o Steel range of mixtures of iron and carbon and other metals
o Alloy = a homogenous mixture containing at least one metal formed when
liquid metals are added together and allowed to form a solid of uniform
composition
o Steel = alloy
o Alloy usually stronger than metal
o Basic Oxygen Steelmaking Process (BOP)
Oxygen + molten and scrap iron +small amounts of alloying
elements (Ni and Cr)
Oxygen combines with unwanted carbon and sulfur to form their
respective oxides which escape as gas
Oxides of silicon and phosphorus are formed too
They combine with lime to form slag of calcium phosphate and
calcium silicate
Scrap iron used to control the exothermic effect of the redox
reactions
Oxygen dissolves into the steel; removed by adding amounts of Al
and Si

o Heat treatment of steel

Annealing metal heated to about 1000 to be softer
Quenching sudden immersion of hot metal in cold water/oil to be
harder and brittle
Tempering heated to a lower temperature till tempering
temperature; replaces brittleness with roughness
Aluminum most abundant metal in crust
o Found in bauxite (impure form of hydrated aluminum oxide), mica, and
clay
o 3 stages to extraction
Purification mineral treated in NaOH; since bauxite is
amphoteric; aluminum oxide dissolves in NaOH; filtration
removes the other oxides
Solvation Purified Aluminum oxide dissolved in molten cryolite;
reduces melting point of the oxide; Pure Aluminum oxide is a bad
electrolyte
Electrolysis Molten mixture is electrolyzed. Graphite anodes
dipped in the solution; the graphite-lined cell acts as cathode
Molten aluminum collects on the bottom of the cell
Negative Oxygen ions go to anode where they oxidize to gas
(typical)
At the high temp, oxygen reacts with the graphite anode to form
CO2.
Graphite burns away from this
Al ions are attracted to the cathode
o Nearby power plant
o Protected from corrosion by a stable oxide layer
o Anodizing process of increasing the thickness of the layer of oxide

C.2 Oil Industry

o Fuel and chemical feedstock
o Oil Refining to remove the impurities
Dissolve in basic potassium carbonate solution to remove acidic
hydrogen sulfide
Burned in air to form sulfur dioxide
Sulfur dioxide reacts with more hydrogen sulfide to produce sulfur
Desulfurization reduces acid rain pollution
Crude oil separated into different fractions by boiling point
Fractional distillation process = crude oil is heated to about
400
Vapors pass a distillation column
Level of condensation depends on size
Smaller molecules at the top
o Cracking breaking down larger molecules

Chemically change the molecules more

Tends to produce branched-chain alkanes
Auto-ignite (knock)
Thermal cracking = heating long chain alkanes from very fractions
to temperature 800 850 at pressures of 70 atm and cooled rapidly
Free radical reaction occurs
Products: shorter chain alkanes, alkenes, and coke (Ethene)
Steam cracking = form of thermal cracking
Ethane, butane, and alkanes with 8 carbon atoms are
preheated, vapourized, and mixed with steam at 1250
1400
Steam dilutes the feed stock
Products: higher yield of ethane and other low molecular
mass alkenes
Steam reduces additional carbon produced too
Catalytic cracking
Cracking at a lower temperature of 500
Involve the formation of carbocations which rearrange on
the catalyst surface
Powdered Catalyst: SiO2 and Al2O3
Products: alkanes, alkenes, and compounds with benzene
ring
Sometimes carbon coats form on catalyst (heat to remove)
Hydrocracking
Heavy fractions are mixed with hydrogen at pressures of
about 80 atm and cracked over palladium on a zeolite
surface
Products: high yield of branched-chain alkanes,
cycloalkanes, and some aromatic compounds

C.3 Addition Polymers

Addition Polymers formed when the double bonds of many monomer molecules
open to form a long continuous chain
Strength and melting point depend on chain length due to intermolecular forces
Different Polymers can be formed from different monomers
Branching
o Branching limits interactions of nearby chains thus weak intermolecular
forces
o Low density polymer = low melting point and flexible
o Low temperature in presence of a catalyst produces a more crystalline
structure
o High density polymer = stronger intermolecular forces and high melting
point

Orientation of side groups

o Methyl groups can be arranged with different orientations relative the
carbon
o Isotactic form methyl groups point the same direction = tougher and
more crystalline
o Atactic form methyl groups are randomly oriented = softer and more
flexible
o Free-radical catalyst produces the Atactic polymer
o Ziegler-Natta catalyst produces isotactic polymer
Modifying the properties of addition polymers
o PVC and plasticizers
Theres permanent dipole
The CL atom limits the ability of chains to move across each other
Pure polymer is hard and brittle
Plasticizers are added to fit between and separate the chains
Chains can slip across more: softer, more flexible
Degree of flexibility depends on amount of plasticizers
o Expanded polystyrene
Made by expansion moulding
Polystyrene beads contain about 5% of a volatile hydrocarbon are
placed in a mould and heated
Bubbles of gas form when the hydrocarbon evaporates
Expansion of gas causes polymer to expand
Low density, white, opaque, and good thermal insulator
Polystyrene colorless, transparent and brittle
o Thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers
Made from polymer chains which interact by intermolecular forces
Heat slips a chain across another; softens the polymer
Multiple heating
When chains line up, a strong fibre is produced as intermolecular
forces increase
Thermosetting polymers when first heated, covalent bonds form
between adjacent chains
The bonds are referred to as cross-linkage which makes it
stronger and more rigid
Cannot be reheated due to the cross-linkage
Adv. And Dis. Of polymer use
o Adv.
Cheap to produce
Useful properties
Unreactive
Low density
Good electrical and thermal insulators

Flexible
Easily colored

o Dis.

Depletion of natural resources

Disposal of plastic
Not biodegradable
Some solutions
o Incineration burned and used as fuel but carbon
dioxide is a greenhouse gas and carbon monoxide is
poisonous and hydrogen chlorine causes acid rain
o Recycling reduces amounts of new plastic needed
o Biodegradability
Bacteria do not have the enzyme
Add natural polymers to make degradable
Breaks the polymer to smaller pieces
Landfills are bad places to degrade stuff
C.4 Catalyst

Increase the rate of some reactions

Provides reactions with alternative reaction mechanisms that have lower
activation energies
Homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis
o Homogeneous same state as reactants
o Heterogeneous different state as reactants
Active Site where the reaction takes place
Industries prefer heterogeneous catalysis due to the removal ease
Many catalysts are either transition metals or their compounds
o Variable oxidation states
o Adsorb small molecules onto their surface
Examples of catalysts: zeolite
o Huge surface for reactants to be adsorbed
o Shape and size of channels makes them shape selective catalysts
Limitations
o Some have limited working life
o Depends on whether the catalyst encounters poison substances
o Ex: mercury (II) salts, carbon monoxide, and hydrogen cyanide
Choice of catalyst
o Selectivity does high yield of desired product occur
o Efficiency how fast is the reaction
o Life expectancy
o Environmental impact
o Ability to work under various temp and pressure

o Transition metals like platinum and palladium are very economical due to
reuse
C.5 Fuel Cells and rechargeable batteries
o Secondary cells may be recharged and have a longer life than primary
o Hydrogen fuel cell
o 1 mol of hydrogen releases 286 kJ of heat energy when combined with
oxygen
o Fuel Cell where reactants are continuously supplied to he electrodes
o Hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell uses an acidic or alkaline electrolyte
o Electrodes made with porous carbon and some transition metals
o Hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell with an acidic electrolyte
o Proton exchange membrane fuel cell is usually made from the strong
durable plastic Teflon
o Both electrodes are coated with particles of platinum to catalyze the
reaction
o Problem
o Hydrogen is not found as in its elemental form
o Rechargeable batteries
o Lead acid battery
Heavy power applications
High current for short periods of time
Both electrodes are made from lead
The negative electrodes are filled with lead (IV) oxide
The electrolyte is sulfuric acid
Lead has a high density
o Nickel cadmium batteries
C. 6 Liquid Crystals
o Liquid crystal state the middle between liquid and solid
o Contain long, thin, rigid, polar, organic molecules
o Thermotropic and lyotropic liquid crystals
o Thermotropic liquid crystals formed by pure substances over a certain
temp
o Lyotropic liquid crystal formed by substances with intermediate
concentrations (depends on both temp and con)
A polar head and a non-polar tail
Micelle is formed when the molecules group to form a spherical
arrangement
o LCD
o Pentylcyanophenyl
Chemically stable

 Suitable range of temperature

Polar
Responds quickly to voltage; fast switch speed
o Molecule is polar thus controllable by voltage
o Voltage, light can be transmitted
o No voltage, light cant be transmitted
o Biphenyl nitriles
Long alkyl chain limits the ability of molecules to pack together /
reduces melting point, vary by size and shape of the chain
Biphenyl groups the two planar benzene rings make the molecule
rigid and rod shaped
Nitrile group high electronegativity of nitrogen makes the
functional group polar, increases intermolecular forces, control of
orientation by electric field
o Twisted nematic LCD
o More used
o Kelvar
o Rod-shaped molecule due to linked benzene ring
o In high concentration hydrogen bonds
C.7 Nanotechnology
o Research and technology development in the 1 1000 nm range
o Top down approach starts with a bulk material and breaks it down
o Bottom up approach builds the material from atomic and molecular species
o Scanning tunneling microscope (STM) uses a ultra-fine tip to scan a surface and
records a signal as the tip moves up and down
o Can be used as tweezers
o Carbon nanotubes
o Have tensile strengths between 50 to 100 times of that of iron
o Strong covalent bonds within the walls of the nanotube
o Some conductors, some semi-conductors
o Implications of nanotechnology
o many